We have now completed four weeks of the 2023 legislative session. I’m happy to report that it was a good week as several key pieces of legislation became law or are moving closer to final passage.
I’ve written here several times about the “Game Plan” package of economic development bills as they have moved through the legislative process. This week, the Alabama House and Senate each awarded final passage to the package of bills that renew and expand the state’s economic development and industrial recruitment incentives offerings.
The bills will also increase transparency by posting information related to awarded incentives online, assists local economic developers with site preparation, and expand the state’s ability to recruit technology companies. Governor Ivey has signed the bills into law and helped to ensure that Alabama will remain competitive when it comes to bringing in new companies and new jobs to our state. Mission accomplished on that set of important bills.
I wrote last week about my bill to allow long-time unclaimed, unused monies that currently sit in county treasurers’ offices in perpetuity to instead be directed to local road and bridge projects. The bill passed a State Senate committee this week and will hopefully be voted on by the full Senate next week. The aim of my bill is to make funds available to improve roads without raising taxes, something I think we can all get behind.
As a father of a daughter, it’s very important to me that we protect our daughters’ and women’s sports. There are some, mostly in blue states, that would like to see biological males be allowed to compete in women’s sports. In Alabama, high school students are already required to compete based on their biological gender. This week, the State House voted to extend those protections to female students who compete at our community colleges and public four-year colleges and universities. The bill passed overwhelmingly. If passed by the State Senate and signed by Gov. Ivey, Alabama would become the 15th state to pass similar legislation. (To date, the NCAA has made no attempts to punish states that prohibit biological males from competing in women’s sports.)
In an effort to equip students for life after school, the topic of financial literacy was front and center this past week. We voted to introduce financial literacy classes across Alabama high schools. Unfortunately, too many students are entering the workforce without the money management skills or knowledge they need to manage their personal finances or to be a successful employee.
The proposal would require Alabama high school students to pass a course focused solely on financial literacy and money management before graduation. The class would include instruction on topics like balancing a checkbook, principles of money management, retail and credit card debt, computing interest rates, types of loans and insurance policies, taxation percentages, investment options, and others.
Until next week…
Representative Matt Woods represents Alabama State House District 13, which covers parts of Walker County. You can contact him at [email protected].
